Improvement in gas-burners



2 Sheets--Sheet L l. R. W I GHAM.

Gas-Burners.

Patented March 24, 1874.

.0 6 S s C n IT m 2 Sheets-I-SheetA 2.

J. E. WIGHAM.

Gas-Burners.

Patented March 24,1874.

UNrrED STATES GFFIGE.

JOHN RICHARDSON WIGHAM, OF ALBANY' HOUSE, MONKSTOVN, IRELAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN GAS-BURNERS.

Specification forming part of Lcttcrs Patent No. 148,909, dated March21, 1874; application filed December 6, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J oHN RrcHARDsoN VIGHAM, of Albany House, Monkstown,in the county of Dublin, Ireland, have invented an Improved Gas-Burnerfor Illuminating Light-Houses and other localities 5 and do herebydeclare that the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings hereinafter referred to, forms a full A and exactspecification of the same, wherein I have set forth the nature andprinciples of my said improvement, by which my invention may bedistinguished from others of a similar class, together with such'partsas I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent-that is to say:

My invention relates to an improved construction of gas-burners, wherebyI am enabled to dispense with the use of chimney-glasses, while a lightsuperior to that of gas-burners heretofore employed is obtainedtherefrom; furthermore, by a device to be hereafter described I amenabled to reduce and increase the volume of light of such burners, atpleasure, without impairing the efficient action of the burner when usedin connection with refleeting or refracting apparatus.

My improved gas-burner is shown ou the accompanying drawings, of whichFigure l shows an elevation, with part of the lower casing removed toshow the internal structure. Figs. 2 and 3 show, respectively, avertical section and a plan to an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 shows aperspective view of a half-ring of jets separated from the body of theburner, as will hereafter be described; and Fig. 5 .shows an elevationof the burner reduced in size by removing the outer ring of jets, partof the lower casing being removed, as in Fig. l, to show the internalstructure. v

The burner consists of a number of concentric circles of jets issuingfrom small tubes a., which project upward from the hollow rings b,surrounding a central sheaf of like tubes, which project upward from acylindrical cavity, o. The latter cavity is connected by an uprightpipe, d, provided with a stopcock, to a gas-supply chamber, e, whichforms the base of the burner. The central sheaf of jets, with theirsupply-cavity c and pipe d, forms the fixedor permanent part of theburner, which may be employed when only a low illuminating power isrequired. When greater power is wanted, the rings b can be addedsuccessively, so as to extend the burner, their connection to or removalfrom it being effected by means which I will now describe. Each of therings b is made in halves, one of such halves being shown in perspectiveat.

Fig. 4L, and has a tubular stem, f, for conducting the supply of gasfrom the chamber e up to the cavity of the ring. This stem f is placedloosely in an annular trough formed in a socket-piece, g, and mercury orother liquid being poured into this trough, a hydraulic joint is at onceformed, making a gas-tight connection of the stemtube f to the socket g.The lower part of the socket g is made tapering, like the plug of astop-cock, and fitted into a tapering seat formed in the supply-chambere. A lateral hole, h, is bored into the plug of g, and the plug can beturned round in its seat by the hand applied to a knob, k, until thehole h of the plug is brought to face a hole bored through the conicalseating into the chamber e. Vhen the plug vis so turned, the gas canflow through the plug and up the stem j' to supply the half-ring b, andthe jets therefrom. To regulate the gas-supply, or cut it olf entirely,the socket g can be turned so as to diminish or entirely obstruct thepassage h in the manner of a stop-cock. The half-rings b, when they arein place, rest by their ends on radial bars l projecting from thecentral part of the burner, and those ends have studs m, which enterholes in the radial bars, so as to steady the half-ring in its properposition. Although I prefer to make the rings b in halves, for facilityof removal, yet it will be evident that entire removable rings may beused. The object of these movable rings of burners is to increase ordiminish the light, according as the state of the atmosphere rcquiresit.

By removing the outer rings of burners when a reduced amount of light isrequired, I prevent the obstruction of the lower rays of lights from theiiame, which would be caused by the jets of the outer ring if they wereleft standing. If, instead of regulating the amount of light by themeans described, this were effected by merely raising or lowering theheight 2 Moa ot1 the flames from all the jets, the efficiency of theburners, more particularly as regards the local position of the llamerelative to the reiiecting or refracting apparatus employed inconnection therewith, would be impaired.

The burner is surrounded by a conical casin g or equalizer, n, which hasthe effect of equalizing, and to a certain extent concentrating, thesupply of air passing upward to the several jets. Then the burner isreduced in size by the removal of one or more of the rings b, theequalizer u is replaced by one of proportionally smaller size, as shownat Fig. 5, which represents the burner with its outer ring removed. Overthe burner is suspended by a ring an oxidizer, o, being a cylinder orshort tube or chimney, by which the products of combustion pass upward.It is made of somewhat smaller diameter than the burner, and the effectof this, combined with the conical forln of the equalizer n, is to makethe flame converge inward, and thereby to produce a very vividillumination. Vhen the burner is reduced in size, a smaller oxidizer isused, as shown in Fig. 5. As the ame in many cases extends to aconsiderable height above the the oXidizer 0 of talc, a material that istransparent, and at the same time little liable to injury by heat.

Having thus described the nature of my invention, and in what manner thesame is to be performed, I claim- 1. The removable ring or rings b ofjets, which can be added to or separated from the burner, as and for thepurposes described.

2. In a burner having attachable and sep arable rings of jets, thestop-cock plug g, with an annular trough forming a hydraulic joint forthe tubular stem f, as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses this 15th day oi' November, 187

JOHN RICHARDSON VIGHAM.

lVitncsses J oHN DoNonoE,

Dublin, Householder. PATRICK Hlirns,

l Anglesea St., Dublin.

